CEBC Event - Canada Egypt Business Council

I N S I D E 

CEBC Welcome 

4 Chairman’s Introduction 

CEBC Events 

6 Reception in Honor of the Secretary 

General of the League of Arab States 

12 The Current State of Education in 

Egypt, Between Development and 

Challenges Ahead 

Climate Change 

20 

CEBC Savor Canada 

22 Canada, a Land of Black Gold! 

CEBC Indepth 

27 Education in Egypt, a Hard 

Lesson to Learn 

35 

CEBC Food for Thought 

52 Burnt Toast… 

CEBC In Focus 

54 Canadian Foreign Property 

Reporting 

CEBC Success Story 

57 Interview with Mr. Mohamed 

Allam, Managing Director for Real 

Estate, Hassan Allam Properties 

A Spotlight on News 

61 Egypt in the Spotlight 

63 Canada in the Spotlight 

CEBC Members 

65 Members’ News 

66 Members’ Benefits 

68 Members’ Birthdates 

72 New Members 

Don’t Miss Top 10 

The Most Effective Steps for a 

Successful Entrepreneur 

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CEBC Welcome 

Labour productivity is fundamental 

to economic growth, as modelled 

formally in the literature on 

endogenous growth. Indeed, with 

global capital markets and rapid 

transmission of technology, it can be argued that 

human capital is more significant than ever as a 

determinant of national economic performance 

and individual well-being. Egypt boasts around 

82 million inhabitants than can be fairly turned 

to a fortune of human wealth through Education. 

Our great novelist and writer Dr. Taha Hussien 

once said, “Education is like the water we 

drink and the air we breathe”. But, what kind 

of education, certainly not the education that 

is blocking the mindset of our new generations 

with memorizing only fearing exams. However, 

our nation is in a significant need for an 

education system that can generate knowledge 

and personality attributes enabling workforce 

produce economic and social value, similar 

to highly advanced education systems, based 

on technology evolution currently evolving in 

most developed nations. 

While this evolution has taken many names, 

there is no doubt that it’s a techno-economic 

model, communicated by a set of new 

information and communication technologies. 

Nevertheless, as the global economy faces 

its complex and comprehensive confronts, 

Information and Communications Technologies 

play a crucial role as the base for a sustainable 

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Keeping in Touch 

economic revival through better enhancing the 

human resources skills. 

At CEBC, we sincerely realize the significance 

of the ICT sector in developing our economy. 

Accordingly, boosting more investments in the 

sector and strengthening the Canadian-Egyptian 

partnership was our main aim, during our recent 

trade mission to Canada, covered in this issue, 

seeking to exchange potential opportunities 

in the fruitful domain of ICT, that Canada’s 

experts’ masterpiece. 

Certainly, efforts to improve Egypt’s education 

system through introducing and utilizing 

technology have resulted in some progress in 

recent years, but despite the implementation of 

substantial reform, there is more to be done. In 

order to continue to get Egypt on the track of 

development that similar countries in the region 

are trying to reach, technology based education 

must be a nonstop and multifaceted process. This 

can only be done by keeping in touch and updated 

with new advanced global trends in technology 

education and ICT sector as a whole. One of 

the needed goals of technology education is to 

promote technological literacy among our new 

generations. To achieve this goal, technology 

education must prepare students to understand, 

control, and use technology. Students need to 

learn how to adapt to technological change and 

how to deal with forces that influence their lives 

and potentially control their future or otherwise 

will be left out of the new global loop.

CEBC Event 

Reception in Honor of the Secretary General 

of the League of Arab States 

In pursue of strengthening relations and developing reciprocal cooperation between Canada 

and the Arab world, the League of Arab States together with the Embassy of Canada in Egypt, 

held a roundtable discussion at the premises of the League of Arab States. The idea of the 

event is discussing and searching new channels for further deepening and developing the 

fruitful cooperation and understanding between the Arab World and Canada. At first glance Canada 

and the Arab world would appear to be separated by significant geographical, linguistic and cultural 

differences, when in recent years they have been drawn into closer cooperation by human links forged 

by travelers and immigrants and by the economic links fostered by growing trade and investment. 

On this special occasion, the Canada Egypt Business Council (CEBC) had the pleasure of holding a 

special reception in honor of this inspiring visit, welcoming H.E. Amre Moussa, Secretary General 

of the League of Arab States (LAS), The Honorable Bob Rae, Member of the Canadian Parliament 

and former Premier of Ontario, H.E. Amb. Ferry de Kerckhove, Ambassador of Canada to Egypt, in 

addition to a group of eminent speakers and guests among which: 

• Dr. Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University, Canada. 

• Mr. Haroon Siddiqui, Editorial Page Editor Emeritus and Columnist, The Toronto Star. 

6 

H.E. Amre Moussa, Secretary General, League of Arab States. 

C E B C N E W S L E T T E R D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0 - J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1


• Professor Janice Stein, Director of Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. 

• Mr. Scott Proudfoot, Sudan Desk, Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. 

• Professor Patrice Brodeur, Holder of the Canada Research Chair Islam, Pluralism and Globalization, 

Faculty of Theology and the Science of Religions, University of Montreal. 

• Dr. Ali Tarabay, Professor of Political Science and Deputy President for Academic Affairs of the 

Lebanese International University (LIU). 

• Dr. Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat, Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Economics and 

Political Science, Cairo University – Egypt. 

• Dr. Kadry Hefny, Emeritus Professor of Political Psychology at the Institute of Higher Studies, 

Ain Shams University – Egypt. 

• Dr. Hossam Nassar, First Under Secretary for Foreign Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture – 

Egypt. 

• Dr. Gouda Abdel Khalek, Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, 

Cairo University – Egypt. 

• Dr. Abla Abdel-Latif, Professor of Economics, The American University in Cairo – Egypt. 

Mr. Saiid El Derini, General Manager and Partner, Tam Oilfield Services, Mr. Nasser Madkour, Chairman, Altameer for 

Real Estate Management, Mr. Achille Sekaly, President, Polymers for Industry, Mr. Nabil Hilmy, Chairman, Hilmy Law 

Firm, Eng. Motaz Raslan, Ms. Nevine Osman, Mr. Magdy Nassar, Mrs. Nasser Madkour. 


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Eng. Motaz Raslan. Ambassador Ferry de Kerckhove. The Honourable Bob Rae. 

In his welcoming remarks, Eng. Motaz Raslan, Chairman, Canada Egypt Business Council stated that 

this visit represents a continuity of the mutual cooperation between Canada and Egypt specifically 

and the Arab World in general in the pursue of strengthening the business relations and joint efforts. 

“It inspires me and gives me great pleasure to hold this reception to welcome not only Egyptians 

visiting from Canada but also eminent Canadians and Arab veterans coming together, to discuss 

relations between the Arab World and Canada, believing that there is enormous untapped potential for 

further development of Canadian/Arab relations for the benefit of us all”, commented Raslan. 

Eng. Raslan also highlighted and praised the role played by the Canadian Embassy in Egypt under the 

leadership of Amb. Ferry de Kerckhove and his efficient staff, in strengthening ties between the two 

countries in addition to supporting the Council’s activities in every possible way. He also shed the 

light on the role of the Canada Egypt Business Council and its main aim to foster the development of 

relations between Canada and Egypt and to support its members in their pursuit of opportunities for 

bilateral relations, attempting to find ways to increase bilateral trade. “Our goal has always been to 

promote a solid Canadian-Egyptian relationship based on our countries’ mutual strategic interests in 

a secure, peaceful Middle East”, said Raslan. 

H.E. Amre Moussa, gave his welcoming remarks and acclaimed the role performed by the Canada 

Egypt Business Council in deepening the bilateral relations between Canada and Egypt. He also 

praised the discussions held at the premises of the League of Arab States stating that these discussions 

and functions aiming at sharing all points of views and clarifying any misconceptions are the elements 

of setting a foundation for the exploration of new avenues for further development of the relationships 

between countries. 

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Dr. Hala El Saiid, Executive Director, 

Egyptian Banking Institute, H.E. Amre 

Moussa, Ms. Randa Fouad, President, 

Arab Media Forum for Environment & 

Development AMFED. 

Mr. Richard Kazan, First Secretary, 

Canadian Embassy, Mr. Mohamed 

Jahangir, Country Manager, The Bank 

of Nova Scotia. 

Ms. Nivine M. Khaled, Professeur - 

Department de francais, Universite 

d’Alexandrie, Ms. Rasha Kamal, Ms. 

Samia Ali Kamel, Private Electrical 

Consultants. 

Dr. Hossam Nassar, First UnderSecretary for Foreign 

Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture, Counselor 

Moustafa El Bahabety, Ministry of Justice, Eng. 

Mounir Sabet, Chairman & Managing Director, 

Egyptian Aviation Services. 

Ambassador Ferry de Kerckhove, Ms. Louise 

Cote, Mr. Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice 

Chancellor, York University. 

Eng. Motaz Raslan, Mrs. Aly Wahby, Mr. Aly 

Wahby. 

Mr. Frank Naboulsi, Vice President & 

General Manager, Fairmont Nile City, Ms. 

Lamise Negm, Vice President, Citibank, 

Eng. Amr Aboualam, Ms. Rasha Kamal, 

Mr. Alex Shalaby. 

Mr. Peter Bates, Political Counselor, 

Canadian Embassy, Dr. Sherif Wissa, Dar El 

Handasah. 

Dr. Walid Auf, General Manager, 

MEDMARK, Dr. Sherif Wissa. 


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Ambassador Mahmoud El Saeed, Eng. 

Motaz Raslan, H.E. Amre Moussa, Dr. 

Hala El Saiid, Ms. Randa Fouad, Mr. Emad 

Taymour. 

Professor Patrice Brodeur, Holder of the 

Canada Research Chair Islam, Pluralism 

and Globalization, University of Montreal, 

Ms. Louise Cote, Ambassador Ferry de 

Kerckhove. 

Mr. Alex Shalaby, Chairman, (Mobinil), 

Ms. Hoda Masri, Associate Director, 

UBS AG Representative Office, Mr. 

John Broadbent, Commercial Counselor, 

Canadian Embassy in Egypt. 

10 


Eng. Adel Aziz Riad, Consultant Engineer, Ms. 

Mayan Raslan, Vice President, Speedo Trans Co., 

Eng. Motaz Raslan, Ms. Nelly Fam, Nelly Law 

Firm Office. 

Mrs. Hany Elsharkawi, Dr. Hany Elsharkawi, 

President, Dana Gas Egypt, Mr. Abdel Aziz El- 

Aguizy, Chairman, Quinsys Information Systems. 

Dr. Moustafa El Fekki, Ambassador Mohamed 

Farag El Doukkali, Ambassador of Morocco to 

Egypt, Mr. Walid Abushakra, Chairman & Super 

Intendent, American International School in Cairo, 

Eng. Motaz Raslan. 

Mrs. Mamdouh Shoukri, Mr. Mamdouh 

Shoukri, Eng. Motaz Raslan. 

Colonel Aly Salem, Manager of the Protocol 

Department, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Hani 

Sarie El Din, Eng. Amr Aboualam, CEO, 

Smart Villages Company, Eng. Motaz Raslan 

Ms. Mariana Malak, Mr. Thaer Mukbel, 

Foreign Affairs Advisor, The Canadian 

Parliment, The Hon Bob Rae, Member 

of The Canadian Parliament and former 

Premier of Ontario-Canada, Dr. Hisham El 

Sherif, Chairman, IT Ventures, Ms. Nevine 

Osman, Senior Political & Economic Officer, 

Canadian Embassy in Egypt.


Mr. Hossam Siddiqui, Editorial Page Editor 

Emeritus and Columnist, The Toronto Star, 

Mr. Alex Shalaby. 

Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, Eng. Motaz 

Raslan. 

Mr. Saiid El Derini, Mr. Moustafa Serry, 

General Manager Egypt Branch and 

CFO, Petzed Investment and Project 

Management Ltd., Mr. Emad El Din 

Taymour, President, Ament, Mr. Marwan 

Hammad. 

Dr. Ahmed Barrada, Professor and Doctor in 

Ophthalmology, International Eye Hospital, Mrs. 

Ahmed Barrada. 

Ms. Loula Zaklama, President and Managing 

Director, Rada Research and Public Relations 

Co., Ambassador Mohamed Elorabi, Assistant 

Minister of Foreign Affairs for International 

Economic Relations. 

Part of the Attendence. 

Amb. and Mrs. Nabil Fahmy. 

Ms. Rasha Kamal, Executive Director, Canada 

Egypt Business Council, Ms. Mireille Nessim, 

Executive Director, The Future Foundation. 

Canada Egypt Business Council Staff. 


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The Current State of Education in Egypt, 

Between Development and Challenges Ahead 

Coverd by: Amira El Sahly 

The Canada Egypt Business Council, CEBC hosted a special dinner and a panel discussion 

featuring H.E. Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, Egypt’s Minister of Education as a keynote 

speaker in addition to Dr. Hossam Badrawi, Chair, Education Committee, The National 

Democratic Party, Dr. Hisham El Sherif, Member of the Supreme Council for Planning 

and Development moderated by Dr. Ahmed Sameh Farid, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Kasr Al- 

Aini. 

Over 250 attendees from prominent ministers, ambassadors, and distinguished CEBC members and 

guests attended the event including H.E. Dr. Hany Helal, Minister of Higher Education and State for 

Scientific Research, H.E. Dr. Safwat El-Nahas, President of the Central, Agency for Organization 

and Management, Dr. Farkhonda Hassan, Secretary General, National Council for Women, H.E. 

Dr. Mostafa El Saiid, Former Minister of Economy, Minister and H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Fawzy, Former 

Minister of Industry and other eminent guests. 

The event entitled “The Current State of Education in Egypt, Between Development, and Challenges 

Ahead”, was prompted by the recent state of education in Egypt and the progress plans that have been 

tackled by the government of Egypt (GEO) to enhance that vital sector versus the growing demand 

for quality education services. 

12 

H.E. Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, Minister of Education. 



The CEBC Chairman, Mr. Motaz Raslan, 

delivered his opening remarks by briefly 

discussing the general state of education in 

Egypt. Mr. Raslan stressed on the sector’s 

influence over human development, spotting 

on the fact that education is the most important 

pillar to human development, as well as a 

significant measure to determine the degree 

of progress and development of societies. 

He added that the council has always been 

committed to address the challenges facing 

different stages of education specially the preuniversity 

education. 

He went on explaining that education is one of 

the major controversial issues in the Egyptian 

society, where the education system suffers 

a real crisis to the extent that the events of 

schools have turned to be a core subject in the 

newspapers. Mr. Raslan spoke about the widely 

spread negative phenomena as an evident of 

the weak level of education and of graduates, 

as well as the problems of tuition and external 

books in addition to aggressive behavior of 

students, noting that several actions need to take 

place in order to rectify the problem. He added 

that this phenomenon of modern Egyptian 

society requires a pause to return to Egyptian 

Education stature. 

Raslan then highlighted the Ministry of 

Education’s role in developing the level of 

education in Egypt, through endorsing schools 

that are more effective, providing distinguished 

teachers at a high level of professionalism, 

expertise and technological education. “All 

these elements, he added, are indispensable to 

improving the education system in Egypt and 

most importantly of all is to replace the method 

of conservation and indoctrination, which is 

Ambassador Ferry de Kerckhove, Ambassador of 

Canada to Egypt. 

Eng. Motaz Raslan, Chairman, Canada Egypt 

Business Council. 

currently present in our curriculum of education 

to advanced curricula based on the development 

of the thinking process, applications and 

analysis.” 

Praising the Minister’s background, Mr. Raslan 

briefly delineated the Minister’s professional 

career path; revealing his success and dedication 

ever since he held his Ph.D. in Computer 

Engineering and Automatic Control in 1986. 

He further added that H.E. Dr. Badr is as well 

a member in the Encyclopedia of distinguished 

intellectuals at Cambridge University, besides 

his previous teachings at many universities 

whether Egyptian, Arab or French ones. 


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14 

Dr. Hisham El Sherif, Eng. Motaz Raslan, H.E. Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, Dr. Hossam Badrawi, Dr. Ahmed Sameh Farid. 

Mr. Raslan then gave the floor to H.E. 

Ambassador Ferry de Kerckhove, Canada’s 

Ambassador to Egypt, who delivered his speech 

by commending the Minister’s commitment 

towards revolutionizing the Egyptian education 

system and restructuring its sectors which 

he views as a main contributor for boosting 

Egypt’s development. He concluded by paying 

tribute to the First Lady’s 100-schools project, 

where he believes that such movements can 

transform Egypt’s current Education system. 

“These reform attempts can advance Egypt’s 

education system to meet with the needed 

requisite levels and help build a high-quality 

education system in the future”, asserted the 

Canadian Ambassador. 

H.E. Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, then started his 

keynote speech by underpinning the supportive 

measures taken by the ministry of education in 


order to develop the current education system in 

Egypt to meet with the international levels. He 

further declared that the ministry is currently 

preparing developed indicators to measure the 

level of education in Egypt, and its position on 

global levels, pointing out that these indicators 

will be evaluating several educational elements, 

including absenteeism across all levels of 

education. He also stressed that these indicators 

come within the measures taken by the 

ministry to determine the comprehensiveness 

of the education curricula, the most important 

problems, the strengths, and weaknesses. 

With regards to the future of education in 

Egypt, Dr. Badr touched upon several points. 

For instance he pointed out that among the 

measures tackled by the ministry is the process 

of standardized tests, a test conducted for 

students in specific age, usually fourth grade and


Dr. Hisham El Sherif, Eng. Motaz Raslan, H.E. 

Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, Dr. Hossam Badrawi, 

Dr. Ahmed Sameh Farid. 

Eng. Motaz Raslan, H.E. Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr. 

second preparatory, then repeated the 

year to follow to determine the degree 

of scientific progress, weaknesses and 

improvements. “This will have a major impact, he added, in bringing about positive improvements in 

the performance rates of all students.” 

Moving on the subject of current challenges facing the Education system, Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, 

admitted the existence of some problems and weaknesses in some aspects of the educational process, 

stressing the need to recognize this, in order to start a real development program. He further mentioned 

that 250 thousand teachers were trained during the last summer on the new curricula and the use of 

technology in the process of Education. In addition, he added that within the Ministry’s plan to develop 

the system of education is the curriculum review in collaboration with specialists and scientists, 

including Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Dr. Hisham El Sherif as well as the Arabic Language Academy.” 

The minister finally added that more than 90% of the schools’ incidents that have been published 

in newspapers were not correct, and that all investigations proved to be incorrect, however, he 

acknowledged the existence of certain events and said this was a product of the society. 

Dr. Hossam Badrawi, Chair, Education Committee, at the National Democratic Party, mentioned that 

the education budget in Egypt does not comply with the policy of education, where 83% of which 

goes to wages and salaries. He further revealed that the volume of expenditure on tuition is estimated 

at 17 billion pounds, adding that we can take advantage of these funds in the development of the 

educational process when parents’ credibility in education is reached, to place a portion of these funds 

in the development of the sector. 


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Dr. Badrawi then gave the floor to Dr. Hisham 

El Sherif, Member of the Supreme Council for 

Planning and Development, who criticized in 

his speech the status of education in Egypt. He 

added that Egypt is ranked within the last ten 

countries in the world for six consecutive years 

in terms of the quality of its education system, 

affirming the existence of a large gap between 

the level of Egypt’s educational system and 

other countries of the region. Dr. El Sherif finally 

stressed on the need for further developments 

in education through restructuring the map of 

technical education and trade along with the 

establishments of new schools that can absorb 

our growing population. 

Dr. Ahmed Sameh Farid, Dean of the Faculty 

of Medicine, Cairo University, also echoed Dr. 

El Sherif remarks regarding the development 

of education in Egypt, stressing as well on the 

need to find a quick solution for the crisis of 

private lessons to take advantage of the $17 

billion pounds that are spent on private lessons. 

He finally pointed out that the Egyptian society 

would not thrive without an improvement in the 

quality of schools and instruction. 

The Minister of Education together with the 

panelists proceeded to answer a lot of questions 

raised from the floor on a number of topics 

touching on updating and modifying test 

questions in the examinations system, IGCSE, 

international schools in Egypt, increasing the 

number of available nurseries, and investing 

in infrastructure to help build new schools and 

improve the quality of instruction, especially in 

remote areas. 

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Mrs. Louise Cote, Ambassador Ferry de Kerckhove. 

Dr. Hisham El Sherif, H.E. Dr. Hany Helal, 

Minister of Higher Education. 

Ms. Rasha Kamal, Executive Director, Canada 

Egypt Business Council, Dr. Hossam Badrawi.


Dr. Farkhonda Hassan, Secretary General, 

The National Council for Women, Dr. 

Nawal El Degwi, Head of Board of 

Trustees, Sixth of October University for 

Modern Sciences and Arts. 

Dr. Farkhonda Hassan, Dr. Safwat El 

Nahas, President, The Central Agency for 

Organization & Administration, Dr. Effat 

El Sadat, Chairman, Sadat Group, H.E. 

Dr. Ibrahim Fawzy, Head of the American 

Friendship Association, Mr. Mohamed El 

Masry, Chairman, Port Said Chamber. 

Ms. Nevine Osman, Senior Political & Economic 

Officer, Canadian Embassy, Dr. Hossam Badrawi, 

Mr. Saiid El Derini, General Manager and Partner, 

Tam Oilfield Services, Mr. Marwan Hammad. 

Ambassador Nehad Abdel Latif, Secretary General of 

the Permanent Secretariat for Implementation of the 

Egyptian European Partnership Agreement, Ministry 

of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Maged El Menshway, 

Chairman and CEO, Manapharma, Mr. Mohamed 

Abdel Razek, Mr. Hussein Khattab, CEO, The 

Egyptian Methanex Methanol Company, Mr. Ahmed 

Farag, CEO, Customs Authority, Dr. Ahmed El 

Sherbini, Deputy to the Minister of Communications 

& IT for International Cooperation, Mr. Walid 

Abushakra, Chairman & Super Intendent, American 

International School in Cairo, Mr. Tammam 

Abushakra. 

Ambassador Ferry de Kerckhove, Dr. 

Mostafa Elsaid, Head of the Economic 

Committee, The People’s Assembly, Mr. 

Galal El Zorba, Chairman, Nile Holding, 

Mrs. Louise Cote, H.E. Dr. Hany Helal. 

Dr. Farkhonda Hassan, Dr. Effat El Sadat, 

H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Fawzy, Mr. Mohamed El 

Masry. 

New Generation guests. Mobinil guests. Part of the Attendence. 


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New Horizon International School guests. Nabil Kamhawi, Chairman, Delta Rasmala 

Securities, Mr. Omar El Derini, President & 

CEO, Suez Safety Outfitters, Mr. Moustafa 

Serry, General Manager Egypt Branch and Chief 

Financial Officer, Petzed Investment and Project 

Management Ltd., Mr. Saiid El Derini. 

Travellers guests. 

Canadian International School of Egypt 

guests. 

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Ms. Nevine Hamza, Dr. Hala El Saiid, Executive 

Director, Egyptian Banking Institute, Dr. Wegdan 

Lotfi, Ahram Canadian University, Ms. Ninette 

Samman, Ms. Randa Fouad, President, Arab Media 

Forum for Environment & Development AMFED, 

Ms. Suzy El Zorba. 

Part of the Attendence. 

Mr. Mohamed El Agati, Chairman, El Agati 

Silver Company, Mr. Marwan Hammad, 

Dr. Mohamed Taymour, Chairman, Pharos 

Holding for Financial Investments, Mr. 

Samir Samman, Managing Partner, Samman 

Trading and Supply Co. 

Ambassador Ismail Khayrat, Chairman, 

Egypt State Information Service, Mrs. Ali El 

Samman, Dr. Ali El Samman, President of 

the Dialogue Committee & Islamic Relations, 

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, 

Ambassador El Husseini Abdelwahab, 

Assistant Foreign Minister for the Americas, 

Mr. Mohamed Ashraf Gohar, Kuwait Holding 

Company, Amb. Amin Meleika, Mr. John 

Broadbent, Commercial Counselor, Canadian 

Embassy, Ambassador Mohamed Elorabi, 

Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for 

International Economic Relations, Mr. Ahmed 

Fathallah, Assistant Minister for European 

Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Climate Change 

Is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades 

to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of 

weather events and may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth. Climate 

change usually refers to changes in modern climate more generally known as global warming. 

20 


Climate forcing or factors that can shape climate include variations in solar 

radiation, deviations in the Earth’s orbit, mountain-building and 

continental drift, and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. 

Some parts of the climate system, such as the oceans 

and ice caps, respond slowly in reaction to climate 

forcing because of their large mass. Therefore, the 

climate system can take centuries or longer to fully 

respond to new external forcing. The position 

of the continents determines the geometry of 

the oceans and therefore influences patterns 

of ocean circulation. The locations of the 

seas are important in controlling the transfer 

of heat and moisture across the globe, and 

therefore, in determining the global climate. 

Over millions of years, the motion of tectonic 

plates reconfigures global land and ocean 

areas and generates topography. This can 

affect both global and local patterns of climate 

and the atmosphere. 

The sun is the predominant source for energy 

input to the Earth. Both long and short-term 

variations in solar intensity are known to affect global 

climate. The cyclical nature of the sun’s energy differs 

from the very slow change that is happening within the sun 

as it ages and evolves. 

Variations in Earth’s orbit lead to changes in the seasonal distribution 

of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface and how it is distributed across the globe. The three types 

of orbital variations are variations in Earth’s eccentricity, changes in the tilt angle of Earth’s axis of 

rotation, and precession of Earth’s axis. 

Volcanic eruptions, geysers, and hot springs, are examples of volcanic processes which release gases 

and/or particulates into the atmosphere. Volcanoes are also part of the extended carbon cycle. By 

time they release carbon dioxide from the Earth’s crust and mantle, counteracting the uptake by 

sedimentary rocks and other geological carbon dioxide sinks. However, it is estimated that human 

activities generate more than 130 times the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by volcanoes.

CEBC 

The ocean is a fundamental part of the climate 

system. On longer time scales, alterations 

to ocean processes such as thermohaline 

circulation play a key role in redistributing 

heat by carrying out a very slow and extremely 

deep movement of water, and the long-term 

redistribution of heat in the world’s oceans. 

Of most concern in these anthropogenic factors 

is the increase in carbon dioxide levels due to 

emissions from fossil fuel combustion, followed 

by aerosols and cement manufacture. Other 

factors, including land use, ozone depletion, 

animal agriculture and deforestation, are also 

of concern in the roles they play. Various 

hypotheses for human-induced climate change 

have been argued for many years. Presently the 

scientific consensus on climate change is that 

human activity is very likely the cause for the 

rapid increase in global average temperatures 

over the past several decades. Consequently, the 

debate has largely shifted onto ways to reduce 

further human impact and to find ways to adapt 

to change that has already occurred. 

As the home of one of the oldest civilizations on 

the planet, Egypt’s concern about global climate 

change and its consequences on sustainable 

development comes as no surprise. Scientific 

evidence and climatic records have sharpened 

the focus on the relationship between the 

concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the 

atmosphere and the rise in global temperatures. 

While not a major contributor to the world’s 

total GHG emissions, Egypt recognizes its own 

vulnerability to climate change in vital areas 

threatening the sustainability of its natural and 

socioeconomic systems. 

The rise in sea level threatens Egypt’s long 

coastal stretch on the Mediterranean and the 

Red Sea with potential damages to, not only 

the tourism industry, a major contributor to the 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but also to 

EGYPT 

the entire ecosystem. Predicted socioeconomic 

implications due to human migration, land loss, 

and soil salinity cause significant concerns. 

With 95 percent of Egypt’s fresh water needs 

supplied from the Nile River, the country’s 

vulnerability increases with any changes in 

rainfall patterns throughout the Nile Basin. 

Climatic changes will also impact agricultural 

productivity and fisheries, thus influencing the 

country’s food supply. 

Egypt is facing these challenges responsibly 

and taking proactive measures to protect its 

future generations from serious threats that 

will increase in the absence of actions taken 

today. A signatory to the 1995 United Nations 

Framework Convention on Climate Change 

(UNFCCC), Egypt has prepared a National 

Action Plan on Climate Change to coordinate 

its efforts to face this serious and important 

challenge, to maintain its sustainable economic 

development, and to provide a safe environment 

for its future generations. 


21

By: Amira El Sahly 

T 

22 

There is a global oil reserve controversy going on recently. Not in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, 

or any other Gulf country, however it is in Canada! 

Canada has a highly sophisticated energy industry, besides being an importer and exporter 

of oil and refined products, where the nation is the seventh largest oil producing country 

in the world. 

Petroleum is a major industry to the economy of North America. Canada is the only significant 

oil producer in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, ‘OECD’, to have 

an increase in oil production in recent years. Production in the other major OECD producers, (the 

United States, United Kingdom, Norway and Mexico), have been declining, as has conventional oil 

production in Canada. However, total crude oil production in Canada was projected to increase by 

an average of 8.6 percent per year from 2008 to 2011 because of new non-conventional oil projects. 

Canada is a net exporter of oil, with 2008 net exports of 1.0 million bbl/day. Nearly all of the countries 

exports flow to the United States, and it is consistently the top supplier of U.S. oil imports. Canada 


SAVOR CANADA 

CANADA 

A LAND 

OF 

BLACK 

GOLD!

had 178 billion barrels of proven oil reserves 

as of January 2009, second only to Saudi 

Arabia. The bulk of these reserves (over 95 

percent) are oil sands deposits in Alberta. 

Daily, over 100 new wells are spud in the 

province of Alberta alone. Canada holds 

the world’s second-largest oil reserves, 

taking into account Alberta’s oil sands 

previously considered too expensive to 

develop. The future prefigures finds that 

are even more significant and greater 

cross-border. 

Canada, a 

Bundle of 

Natural 

Resources 

Over the last decade, natural resource wealth 

accounted for between 12 and 19 percent of 

Canada’s total wealth. These resources fall into 

three categories: energy, mineral, and timber 

resources, where energy resources relay on 

natural gas, crude oil, crude bitumen (oil sands) 

and coal. 

In oil sands alone, Canada has as much oil as 

Saudi Arabia. However, despite the drop last 

year, Canada’s oil production has steadily 

risen over the past decade, as new oil sands 

and offshore projects have come on-stream to 

replace aging, mature fields. Overall, there are 

high expectations that oil sands production 

will increase even further in coming 

years to offset the decline in Canada’s 

conventional crude oil production. 

The EIA ‘International Energy Outlook’, 

has reported recently that Canada’s proven 

oil reserves raised to 180 billion bbls from 

4.9 billion bbls, thanks to inclusion of the oil 

sands, also known as tar sands, now considered 

recoverable with existing technology and 

market conditions. Oil sands reserves are 

currently estimated by government regulators 

to be economically producible at current prices 

using current technology, despite arguments 

about the difference in quality of those reserves 

from the Saudi reserves in terms of cost and 

ability to bring. 


23


Over 95 percent of these reserves are in the oil 

sands deposits in the province of Alberta. Alberta 

contains nearly all of Canada’s oil sands and much 

of its conventional oil reserves. The balance is 

concentrated in several other provinces and territories. 

Saskatchewan and offshore areas of Newfoundland in 

particular have substantial oil production and reserves. 

Alberta has 39 percent of Canada’s remaining 

conventional oil reserves, offshore Newfoundland 

28 percent and Saskatchewan 27 percent, but if oil 

sands are included, Alberta’s share is over 98 percent. 

In addition, recent private sector estimates have 

shown an additional 175 billion barrels of oil, to be 

recovered from resources known to exist in Western 

Canada since the 19th Century. 

The latest estimates put Canada ahead of Iraq. 

Analysts estimate that Saudi Arabia’s recoverable oil 

reserves at 264 billion bbls, while projects Canadian 

oil sands to produce 2.2 million barrels a day by 2025 

compared with the current level of about 700,000 b/d, 

which already represents more than fourth of total 

Canadian output of 3.1 million b/d. 

24 

Canadian Industry Sees More Oil 

Sands Potential 

Canada’s oil sands producers have attracted increasing attention from foreign oil companies, 

especially Asian companies seeking to satisfy growing demand in their countries and secure 

equity oil stakes. In 2006, state-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) purchased the 

BlackGold bitumen deposit from Newmont for $250 million; BlackGold contains an estimated 

250 million barrels of crude oil, and KNOC brings 35,000 bbl/d of production on-stream at the 

site during 2010. In 2005, China’s Sinopec, through its Canadian subsidiary, purchased a 40 

percent stake in Northern Lights, an oil sands project currently under development by Total; in 

2009, Sinopec purchased an additional 10 percent stake in the project. 

In addition during 2007, the Chinese National Petroleum company (CNPC) won exploration 

rights for a 260-acre tract in Alberta. The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) 

holds a stake in MEG Energy, which operates the Christina Lake project. 


Canada has a privatized oil sector that has witnessed consolidation in recent years. Large oil 

producers in the country include Imperial Oil, EnCana, Talisman Energy, Suncor, EOG Resources, 

Husky Energy, and Apache Canada. Much of the regulation of the oil industry occurs at the 

provincial level. In 2009, Suncor and Petro-Canada announced that they would merge, creating 

the largest oil producer in the country, as well as one of the largest producers of natural gas. 

Current oil sands projects are economically feasible at crude oil prices of $18-$20 a barrel, 

though the quality of oil produced can differ according to whether production comes from 

reserves that require drilling assisted by steam-injection pressure or from simple mining. The 

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers estimates current projects will raise Alberta oil 

sands production to 1 million b/d recently, and continuing development will raise it further to 1.8 

million b/d by end of 2011. 

The Sector’s 

Development 

Challenges 

There are clearly many of the challenges that 

may hummer the sector’s development goals. 

Among which are complications from the 

additional carbon dioxide emissions rising 

from production and processing of the tarry 

substance. As despite Canada’s ratification of 

the Kyoto Protocol limiting carbon dioxide 

emissions, the industry expects the international 

agreement to add only 25 to 30 cents a barrel to 

development costs through 2012. 

Oil sands development, which relies heavily on 

natural gas, could benefit from development and 

pipeline transport of large Arctic gas reserves in 

Alaska’s North Slope and Canada’s Mackenzie 

Delta, which under current proposals could be 

on-stream by 2011. 


25


Analysts estimate that a price of $30 to $40 per barrel is required to make new oil sands production 

profitable. In recent years, prices have greatly exceeded those levels and the Alberta government 

expects $116 billion worth of new oil sands projects to be undertaken between 2008 and 2017. 

However, the biggest constraint on oil sands development is a serious labor and housing shortage in 

Alberta as a whole and the oil sands center of Fort McMurray in particular. 

Another obstacle is Canada’s capacity to rapidly increase its export pipelines. However, surging crude 

oil prices sparked a jump in applications for oil pipelines in recent years and new pipelines were 

planned to carry Canadian oil as far south as U.S. refineries on the Gulf of Mexico. 

Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (AEUB), now known as the Energy Resources Conservation Board 

(ERCB) has previously decided an accounting of 174 billion barrels (28×109 m3) of the Alberta oil 

sands deposits. Although now widely accepted, this addition was controversial at the time because oil 

sands contain an extremely heavy form of crude oil known as bitumen, which will not flow toward a 

well under reservoir conditions. Instead, it must be mined, heated, or diluted with solvents to allow 

it to be produced, and must be upgraded to lighter oil to be usable by refineries to what is called “tar 

sands”. 

A Promising Future in the Skylines 

While cautious about the new reserve estimates, oil sands may be “a good contrarian investment” 

at a time most energy investors are focused on natural gas. It is a good potential source of 

hydrocarbons as well. 

In addition, in recent years, technological breakthroughs have overcome the economical and 

technical difficulties of producing the oil sands, and Alberta’s petroleum production was heavily 

from oil sands rather than conventional oil fields. The recent estimates report that by 2017 oil 

sands production will make up 88 percent of Alberta’s predicted oil production of 3.4 million 

barrels per day (540,000 m3/d). 

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers 

(CAPP) continues to forecast significant growth in 

Canadian crude oil production over the next 15 years, 

driven largely by oil sands. “CAPP’s 2010 Crude Oil 

Forecast reaffirms the trend of continued long term 

production growth in Canada. While the economic 

downturn in 2009 saw many projects deferred, a 

stabilizing investment climate, more robust commodity 

prices, and market demand for Canadian crude have 

provided the foundation for several projects to return 

to active development, where many other promising 

projects appear in the future skylines. 

26 C E B C N E W S L E T T E R D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0 - J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1


Education in Egypt, 

Many nations are making efforts to address 

human resource development challenges and 

any existing mismatch between the skills 

and technical knowledge of their educated 

graduates along with the needs of their labor market, 

where highly developed nations regard education as the 

chief pillar for their advancement. In Egypt, the story is 

a bit different, where education became the main burden 

on the Egyptian state and public shoulders all together. 

By: Amira El Sahly 

a Hard Lesson 

to Learn


While Egypt has the largest overall education 

system in the Middle East and North Africa 

(MENA) that has grown rapidly since the early 

1990s, yet still the sector faces many challenges 

to be able to meet with recent international 

levels of Education, though, the Government of 

Egypt (GOE) has accorded even greater priority 

in improving the education system. According 

to the Human Development Index (HDI), Egypt 

is ranked 123 in the HDI and 7 in the lowest 10 

HDI countries in the Middle East and Northern 

Africa, in 2009. 

28 C E B C N E W S L E T T E R D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0 - J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1 

With the help of World Bank and other 

multilateral organizations, Egypt aims to increase 

access in early childhood care and education and 

the inclusion of ICT at all levels of education, 

especially at the tertiary level. The Ministry of 

education is also tackling with a number of issues; 

trying to move from a highly centralized system to 

offering more autonomy to individual institutions, 

thereby increasing accountability. The human 

resource management in the education also needs 

to be repaired and teachers should be hired on 

merit with salaries attached to the performance 

and qualifications.


Human Development, a Long Road of Challenges 

Despite the Ministry of Education’s effort to ensure access to all school age children, however, some 

groups remain outside the school system, including children that have dropped out of mainstream 

schools, in addition others that have never been enrolled because of either extreme poverty or complete 

lack of access to education. 

Since 1992, the Ministry of Education and other partners have been providing a number of initiatives 

to reach this hard goal. The Community schools, the one-classroom schools, and the small schools 

all fall in this category. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), together with 

other government agencies, have been working since the year 2000 to provide education for girls and 

street children. These efforts resulted in the establishment of the Girls’ Friendly Schools, Schools for 

Street Children, or Children in Difficult Circumstances. 

All these endeavors have together created a type of education referred to as Community Based 

Education (CBE). The CBE has proven to be successful and attractive in all respects, where it provides 

quality education to those under-served, dropouts, and street children, including girls and boys, hence 

eliminating a major source of illiteracy in the population. In addition, this type of education employs 

individuals with only a secondary school diploma as class facilitators. Community schools have 

proven convenient and more attractive to particular communities and students at remote rural areas 

with no mainstream schools, extremely poor families who depend on children to support the family. 

This type of school is the only opportunity for children who dropped out of basic education and 

grew older than regular school age limits to return to education, and is considered the only chance 

for marginalized populations like street children, who do not fit into the system due to their special 

circumstances. 

Moreover, the 1993 First Lady’s initiative for Girls Education triggered several initiatives that 

followed the same course of development in CBE, featuring a high level of community participation, 

international interest, innovation, and impact on the individuals and their communities. Four forms 

of this scheme of education are currently in operation including, the One Classroom Schools, the 

Community Schools as well as Small Schools, the Girls’ Friendly Schools, and Friendly Schools for 

Children in Difficult Circumstances. The existing efforts serve only 20% of the actual needs, as there 

are an estimated 400,000 children whose needs have not been yet met. Substantial efforts are needed 

to address this gap, particularly in girls’ education, which is one of the development imperative goals. 

C E B C N E W S L E T T E R D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0 - J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1 29

In spite of the great progress that has been 

achieved in terms of reducing the gender gap, 

some problems remain ahead. Specifically, 

ensuring equal access and retention is no longer 

enough to solve the gender issue, which is also 

about changing the outlook of the people and 

therefore has to do with curriculum and teaching 

practices. The past and present successes and 

achievements of CBE are good grounds for 

promoting and activating more community 

participation into particularly financing the 

future efforts to enable these children acquire 

their right in quality education. 

Moving to improving quality of the primary 

level, educators suggest that it requires a 

pattern transfer in the social perspective of the 

educational process at this level. As education 

at this level should never be considered just 

a tool to assist pupils in mastering reading, 

writing, and math skills. Relatively, it should be 

perceived as a system intended to enable pupils 

to acquire values, attitudes, behaviors, and 

skills that assist them in forming their present 

perspectives and future orientations. 


The Needed Turning Point 

Albert Einstein once said, «It’s a 

miracle that curiosity survives formal 

education», that kind of curiosity that 

made Isaac Newton wonder what 

forces were engaged in recreation 

instead of merely picking up and eating 

the apple that fell on his head. Within 

that, the large dilemma of our modern 

education system named curiosity is 

found. Curiosity is considered a strange 

notion in our education system, where 

students are not encouraged to speak 

their minds or think independently, but 

memorize, memorize and memorize. 

The education system’s general problems 

among the public is not adding or subtracting 

an academic year of our primary years, indeed, 

the argument over the primary years is nothing 

compared to the conflict over the test that 

determines almost every pupil’s educational 

destiny, which is the horror in any Egyptian 

house called «Thanaweya Amma». Before 

1994, students took one long exam during their 

third secondary year to decide their fate in 

university. Consequently, at this time each year, 

every Egyptian household declared its own state 

of emergency, with private tutors abusing their 

powers and making a fortune out of parents’ 

misery. In June 1994, though, a new system 

was introduced whereby the examinations were 

divided over two years instead of one, with 

more opportunities for students to improve their 

grades. As we all agree, it did not really work 

out. Private tutors doubled their fees, students 

received dual quantities of fear, and grade 

inflation set in, with more students scoring


averages above 100 percent, driving universities, in turn, to raise their admission cutoffs. The State 

took action against grade inflation in 1997, but 13 years later, thanaweya amma is still the talk of the 

town. 

Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, Minister of education since appointed last January, has promised to put students 

and parents out of their murk as he declared that he would repair the thanaweya amma system, where 

he has proposed returning to the one-year thanaweya amma, instead. Dr. Badr, has also promised 

students that the exams won’t be based on memorizing, but on creativity and analytical skills, which 

are two exact facilities our education system repel and thoroughly hummer. 

Instructors point out that not only the obsolete educational techniques that have contributed to the 

deterioration of education; yet it is also the shortage of qualified teachers. As whether a public or 

private school, all have become equal under the ‘Law of Private Tutors’ that has put very heavy 

burdens over the shoulder of every Egyptian parent. Throughout the years, the ministry has affirmed 

confrontation to private lessons and shockingly lost each battle. Low pay has always been a common 

objection among the teaching staff, and calls for a serious reconsideration of their salaries and social 

status have been repeated throughout the last years. 

Students and parents do not really seem getting value for their money or benefit from what they learn. 

After all, each year public and private university release thousands of students with almost none of 

the practical skills the market needs. One would think that technical graduates would have a better 

chance in a country that speaks all the time about industrial and technological development. However, 

technical education will only flourish, when the society stops regarding it as inferior to university 

education. Only by investing in vocational education, we will achieve the country’s patronizing 

industrial development and job creation goals. 

C E B C N E W S L E T T E R D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0 - J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1 31


It is Time to Learn the Hard Lesson 

The Egyptian economy should be intensively shifting to a technology-based and digital 

economy, which is based on the power of knowledge and intellectual innovations that are 

built through advanced education system and higher levels of literacy. 

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education in Egypt should start learning the hard lesson in order to 

effectively reform the education system in Egypt, and promote equity to serve as an innovative 

model in the region, through providing high quality education for all as a basic human right. 

In addition, preparing all children and youth for a healthy citizenship in a knowledge-based 

society, is another indispensable goal for human development in Egypt. This may be achieved 

through adopting a decentralized educational system that enhances community participation, 

good governance, and effective management at all school levels as well as at all administrative 

levels to move with our human wealth to a new level of fortune that can luminously shine our 

future with the power of knowledge. 

32 

T H E M O S T E F F E C T I V E S T E P S F O R A S U C C E S S F U L E N T R E P R E N E U R 

Initiative and Creativity 

The business world of today is moving at a very fast speed. An entrepreneur 

should have the ability to take initiative by producing new things; new 

methods of marketing the products had services. The business opportunity, 

creative imagination is regarded as a priceless asset in the business world. 


Use all the Resources in hands 

Use a professional business checklist to accomplish tasks in a logical order 

to save time and energy. With links and instructions at your fingertips, 

you will be able to focus on the most important things that you need to 

do including information required to create a business plan, sources 

for financing your business, administrative procedures that involve 

registration, licenses, and taxes, recruiting and staffing matters. 



35

IAt the Canadian Parliament 

n an annual tradition dating back five years ago, the Canada Egypt Business Council, 

CEBC held its sixth annual Trade Mission to Canada from September 26 until October 

1, 2010, to highlight the Egyptian Canadian trade and economic ties. 

The official/trade mission to Canada this year came as part of the MCIT international relations approach 

to identify forms of cooperation with significant partners in the fields of technology advancement, 

innovation and entrepreneurship. This mission highlighting the sector of ICT is MCIT’s second trade 

mission to Canada with CEBC after their first visit in 2007. This year, Dr. Hoda Baraka, First Deputy 

to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, has headed the mission delegates in 

addition to Mr. Motaz Raslan, Chairman, Canada Egypt Business Council. 

The ICT sector, has proven Egypt to be a major GDP pillar, a success that is even more sharpened by 

successful mutual cooperation with leading countries in the field of ICT. The visit to Canada came in 

line with the Egyptian ICT approach, especially that both parties are spearing ahead towards an era of 

innovation and entrepreneurship. 

A delegation comprising distinguished CEBC members and government officials traveled to Toronto, 

Ottawa, and Montreal to lobby on behalf of the government of Egypt (GOE) and Egypt’s business 

community by presenting their viewpoints to the Canadian policy makers and think tanks. This is 

besides, promoting Egypt as an investment destination as well as a significant trade partner to Canada. 


Dr. Hoda Baraka at a site Tour in an IT lab 

The mission aimed at proposing to the Canadian counterparts to start engaging in discussing areas 

of mutual interest and suggest the way forward to leverage successful achievements. In addition, the 

mission aimed at coming up with some forms of business development cooperation at both ends. 

Innovation and entrepreneurship were major themes of the mission on the business and academic 

levels. 

The mission has incorporated more than 40 delegates representing different segments of the public as 

well as the private sectors with a special focus on the IT sector, in addition to a number of prominent 

members of the Canada Egypt Business Council (CEBC), representing various sectors such as cyber 

security, finance & banking and industry services besides a number of eminent journalists. 

Moreover, several top government officials have joined the mission on behalf of diverse ministries 

including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The General Authority for Investment and Free Zone 

(GAFI) and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). 

This year’s mission included some 30 high-profile meetings as well as well-attended events hosted by 

CEBC to facilitate the rapport with Canadian key officials, policymakers, think tanks, and business 

leaders. 


37

Since last year, the Council had started to harvest the fruits of solid endeavours, whether on the 

Canadian or the Egyptian fronts. This was materialized in the outstanding outcomes of the mission 

as well as the genuine support and sustainability provided by the government of Egypt (GOE) as 

well as the Canadian administration to CEBC’s tireless attempts in nurturing the Egyptian-Canadian 

relations. 

Accordingly, the mission held a number of high profile conventions aiming at building a reliable 

partnership between Canada and Egypt, knowing the fact that Canada is one of the G8 countries 

and major global economies and an advanced country, notably in the hi-technology, information 

technology (IT) sector. 

The message the delegates conveyed to the Canadian officials was that Egypt could present large 

business prospects for Canadian companies in the field of communications and IT. Another major 

issue that dominated the meetings with the Canadian policy-makers was the stability of Egypt’s 

economy as well as the success of its political reform policies. 

Roundtable with Canadian ICT Firms & Venture Capital Companies 


Delegation Members 

• Dr. Hoda Baraka, First Deputy to 

the Minister of Communications and 

Information Technology 

• Mr. Motaz Raslan, Chairman, Canada 

Egypt Business Council 

ITIDA Representatives 

• Mr. Amr Kamel, Chairman, Global 

Technologies 

• Mr. Essam El Kalza, CEO, United OFOQ 

• Ms. Gihan Samir, Managing Director and 

Board Member, IT Synergy 

• Mr. Hani El Kolaly, Manager, 

Organizations Support Department (FDI & 

Egyptian Org. Support) ITIDA 

• Mr. Hossam Megahed, Board Member, IT 

Industry Development Authority 

• Dr. Khaled Ismail, President and Founder, 

SySDSoft 

• Eng. Magdy Sharawy, CEO, Softlock 

• Mr. Samer Naguib, Vice President for 

Marketing and business development, 

OMS 

• Eng. Tarek Assaad, Managing Partner, 

Ideavelopers and Technology Development 

Fund 

• Mr. Wael Nawara, CEO, Horizon 

Interactive Studios 

MCIT Representatives 

• Ms. Samah Aziz, Deputy Director for 

European and Foreign Affairs Egypt 

• Ms. Mariam Fayez, Deputy Director of the 

Media Relations Department 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Representative 

• Ms. Marwa Sayed Ali, Third Secretary. 

GAFI Representative 

• Mr. Tamer Moustafa, Promotion Department 

Head. 

Canadian Embassy Representative 

• Mr. Joseph Tadros, Trade Commissioner 

CEBC Members 

• Mr. Alex Shalaby, Chairman, Mobinil 

• Mr. Amr Aboualam, Chief Executive 

Officer & Board Member, Smart Villages 

Company 

• Mr. Hafez Hamdy, Head of Commercial, 

Vodafone International Services 

• Mr. Hassan Hussein, Chairman, HH 

Investments Holding Ltd 

• Ms. Hoda Masri, Associate Director, 

Representative, UBS AG Representative 

Office 

• Ms. Lamise Negm, Vice President, 

Citibank 

• Mr. Mahfouz Nasralla, Chairman, Prima 

Elios for Electrical Industries 

• Mr. Mohamed El Agati, Chairman, El 

Agati Silver Company 

• Dr. Mohamed Reda, Chairman, ITEC IT 

Export Community of Egypt 

• Dr. Nabil Hilmy, Senior Partner & Owner, 

Hilmy Law Firm 

• Mr. Rawy Iskander, President, ValueGEM 

e/m-Commerce Solutions Canada 

• Mr. Saiid El Derini, General Manager and 

Partner, Tam Oilfield Services 

• Mr. Sherif El Kammash, Managing 

Director, IST Egypt 

Media Representative and Journalists 

• Mr. Mahmoud Salem, Managing Editor, 

Akhbar El-yom. Newspaper 

• Mr. Mohamed El Hawary, Managing 

Editor, Al Akhbar Newspaper 

• Mr. Mohamed Radwan, Managing Editor, 

Al-Masry Al-Youm. Newspaper 

• Ms. Naglaa Zikri, Executive General 

Manager and Head of the Economic 

Section, Al Ahram Newspaper 

CEBC Staff 

• Ms. Rasha Kamal, Executive Director 

• Ms. Mariana Malak, Office Manager to the 

Chairman 


39

40 

Roundtable Discussion 

The Trade Mission Agenda 

Throughout five working days, the CEBC trade mission delegates have conducted several fruitful 

conventions including one-to-one contacts, roundtable discussions, group meetings, conferences 

and evening receptions with key Canadian government officials, parliamentarians, think thanks, 

business community, and Canadians of Egyptian origins in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. This is in 

addition to a number of preparations for bilateral accords and quality discussions with major financial 

institutions, banks, and Canadian investment firms. 

The meetings covered three levels 

1. Official and Political Meetings 

Senior officials headed by Dr. Hoda Baraka, participated in the meetings, in addition to representatives 

from the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa and the Canadian Embassy in Cairo. H.E. Ambassador Wael 

Aboulmagd, Ambassador of Egypt to Canada participated in official meetings in Ottawa. 

The meetings were successful in positioning the Egyptian ICT sector in front of the Canadian 

government counterparts. In addition, both sides elaborated on their current focus on innovation and 

entrepreneurship among other priorities. The Canadian side shared its recent strategy documents in 

related areas. 

The Egyptian delegation had the chance to suggest to its Canadian counterparts to commence dialogue 

and suggest leverage points and complementarities for the advancement of selected area of expertise. 

As a start, the Egyptian delegation is focusing on “Cybersecurity”, “innovation and entrepreneurship”, 

“broadband” and “child online safety”. These are areas for exchange of information, capacity building 

in addition to harmonisation of policies. 


The Meetings included 

• Meeting with Mr. Tony Rockingham, Assistant Deputy Minister of Research and Innovation. 

• Meeting with The Hon. Gar Knutson, Former Secretary of State for International Trade for Canada. 

• Meeting with Gordon Venner, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Middle East, Department of 

Foreign Affairs & International Trade for Canada. 

• Meeting with Mr. Peter MacArther, Director General for Global Business Opportunities. 

• Meeting with Mr. Beiot Prefontaine, Director of ICT sector. 

• Meeting with Mr. Paul Day, Vice -President of Information Technology Team in EDC 

• Meeting with Mr. Simon Kennedy, Senior Associate Deputy Minister Information Technologies 

and Telecommunications 

• Meeting with Ms. Helen McDonald, Assistant Deputy Minister Spectrum, Information 

Technologies and Telecommunications 

• Meeting with Ms. Genevieve Tanguay Assistant Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and 

Technology 

• Robert W. Gordon, Special Advisor, Cyber Security, National Cyber security Directorate 

• Meeting with Mr. Mario Monette, President and CEO, Technoparc Montreal 

• Meeting with Dr. Bernard Patry, MP Vice Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee 

Delegates at Wind Mobile Canada 


41

Meeting with the Deputy Minister for the Middle East, Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade 

2. Meetings with the Egyptian Community in Toronto and Montreal 

The CEBC has organized two events and evening receptions sponsored by the MCIT and Orascom 

Telecom with the Egyptian community in Canada including: 

• Egyptian Community Event in Montreal 

• Egyptian Community Event in Ontario 

Various significant subjects have been raised during the events, discussing recommendations and 

proposals on future bilateral cooperation between Canada and Egypt in line with the presence of a 

large reputable Egyptian community in Canada. 

Delegates at the Canadian Parliament 


Roundtable at Christie 

The range of visits and meetings was very much diversified in terms of nature of entities, although the 

focus was similar in many cases. It was beneficial to meet representatives of umbrella organizations 

such as MaRS, EDC and Montreal International. These organizations have work strands that are similar 

to the Egyptian IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and the recently announced Technology 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC). A similarity that encouraged the Egyptian delegation 

to offer space for EDC at Smart Village in Sixth of October Governorate, in addition to proposing to 

host interested trade missions in ICT. 

Commercialization of Research was among the topics prioritized for discussion, in addition to the 

enabling environment government and business could create for technology transfer. 

Academic meetings were also very useful in completing the picture of how Canada establishes links 

between government, business and academia to encourage research at one hand and work on its 

commercialization on the other such as the UHN in Toronto and the University of Waterloo, the 

University of Ottawa, the INRS, the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, the McGill University and the 

Ecole de Technologies Superieure (ETS). 

Cloud computing, green technology, broadband applications and Cyber-security were among areas 

identified from the Egyptian side for mutual cooperation. Possible cooperation with Nile University 

and the National Telecommunications Institute is foreseen. 

The Canadian staffers and business leaders reiterated that such trade missions and in-person meetings 

were particularly supportive in raising their knowledge about issues recently unfolding in the country. 

They also explained that the prospect to meet senior officials and Egyptian decision-makers along 

with key effective business leaders in this trade mission provide them firsthand insights that they 

cannot get from simply reading academic articles or compiled reports. 


Eng. Motaz Raslan & Dr. Hoda Baraka 

Eng. Motaz Raslan, Amb. Wael Aboulmagd, Dr. Hoda 

Baraka, Dr. Bernard Patry 

Mr. Ahmed Lebidy, Amb. Suzan Gamil, Dr. Hoda 

Baraka, Eng. Motaz Raslan 

Dr. Hoda Baraka, Eng. Motaz Raslan, 

Eng. Alex Shalaby 


45

Mr. Joe Tadros, Mr. Ahmed Lebidy, Amb. Wael Aboulmagd, 

Mr. Hani El Kolaly, Eng. Hossam Megahed 

Meeting with ITIDA Representatives 

Amb. Wael Aboulmagd & Dr. Hoda Baraka 


Mr. Hassan Hussein, Mr. Tarek Asaad, Ms. Mariana 

Malak, Mr. Hafez Hamdy 

Mr. Joe Tadros, Mrs. Magda Shalaby, Mr. Alex Shalaby, 

Mr. Mahfouz Nasralla 

Meeting with the Director General for Global Business 

Opportunities and the Director of ICT sector

Meeting at Wind Mobile Canada 

Meeting at Wind Mobile Canada 

At the Egyptian Ambassador’s Residence 

Meeting at the University of McGill 

Site tour at christie 

Roundtable with Janet Ecker, CEO (former Minister of 

Finance of Ontario) 

Ms. Hoda Masri, Dr. Nabil Hilmy 


47

Meeting with Mr. Tony Rockingham, Assistant Deputy 

Minister of Research and Innovation 

Roundtable with members of Toronto Financial Services 

Alliance (TFSA) 

Christie Digital Labs 

48 


Meeting at MaRS Discovery Center 

Group Picture at Christie Digital 

Meeting at BLG

Christie Labs 

Roundtable at Wind 

Presentation at Christie Digital 

Roundtable at the University of Waterloo 

Meeting with the Egyptian Community 

Presentation at BLG 


49

50 

Site Tour at Christie Digital 

Presentation at Christie 

Roundtable at Export Development Canada 


Eng. Motaz Raslan, Mr. Saiid El Derini, Amb. Wael 

Aboulmagd, Mr. M.El Agati & Dr. Bernard Patry 

Dr. Khaled Ismail, Dr. Hoda Baraka, Eng. Motaz Raslan, 

Mr. Hani El Kolaly 

Reception at the Egyptian Ambassador’s Residence

2010 


51

CEBC Food For Thought 

Business 

Burnt Toast… 

Etiquette and Manners 

When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner 

every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she 

had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so 

long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned 

toast in front of my daddy. I remember watching & waiting to see if anyone else noticed!. 

Yet all my daddy did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day at school had 

been. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and 

jelly on that toast and eat every single bite of it! 

I went to kiss daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me 

in his arms and said, “Honey, your mother put in a hard day at work today and she’s really tired.. 

And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!.....You know, life is full of imperfect things and 

imperfect people. I’m not perfect & neither is anyone else”. 

What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults and choosing to 

celebrate each other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, 

and lasting community and relationship. We all make mistakes, we all need help from someone else 

sometime or another. Take the good, the bad, the ugly parts of your life and lay them before God, He 

52 


CEBC Food For Thought 

is the only one who will be able to give you a relationship where burnt toast isn’t a deal-breaker!. 

We could extend this to any relationship in fact, as understanding is the base of any relationship, be 

it a husband-wife, parent-child or friendship!! 


Being Organized 

A key factor to success is to learn to organize your time, which will 

positively allow you to convey a professional image throughout your 

career. Since success or failure in business is usually more caused by the 

mental attitude rather than mental capacities, as you start your business, 

establish your credibility by showing that you are in control. Making a 

good first impression on the individuals who will play a role in the success 

of your business is smart planning as well. 


Be Unique 

You have to make it clear to everybody what you are doing and why 

you are doing it. You should avoid mistakes as much as possible. As an 

entrepreneur, you should be considered a “unique” individual. If you can 

clarify this to yourself, you will feel a surge of energy that can positively 

attract prospective clients. Everything you do then is like a magnet that 

attracts energy. 


Establish your Market 

The next thing that you have to do in order to earn great profits is to 

establish your market. You should have an exact target for your products or 

services. You have to study the qualities of your customers so that you can 

make your own product or service stand out from your competitors. You 

should make use of every marketing material that you have to articulate 

a significant message to your customers. You have to communicate with 

them honestly and authentically. Everything you do should be rooted in 

truthfulness and reliability. By doing this, you will attract more clients. 


53


54 

Canadian Foreign Property 

Reporting and How to Sleep 

Better at Night-Voluntary 

Disclosure Process… 

By: Mohammad Ahmad 

THERE IS AN OLD SAYING THAT “WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW WON’T 

HURT YOU. 

However, this saying doesn’t apply when you’re talking about foreign property reporting 

requirements under the tax rules. In this case, it definitely pays to make sure you are compliant 

otherwise you are exposing yourself to a number of potential penalties not to mention that 

you’ll sleep better at night! 

Recently, a number of tax agencies have stepped up their efforts to collect information about 

their taxpayer’s foreign property or financial holdings. The most vivid example is the U.S. 

crackdown on offshore tax evasion and an IRS investigation of Swiss bank UBS which resulted 

in a $780-million fine for the bank. The U.S. efforts have also resulted in criminal 

investigations and jail time for violators. European and other countries have also gotten into 

the act as it results in increased tax revenue in a time of need. 

Under the U.S. rules, a U.S. person is required to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial 

Accounts (“FBAR” or Form TD F 9022.1-) if they have a financial interest in or signature 

authority over financial accounts in a foreign country where the aggregate value exceeds 

$10,000. The potential penalty for an inadvertent failure to file is $10,000 and a willful failure 

could cost as much as $100,000 and even result in jail time. 



Since 1998, Canadian tax residents have been required to disclose ownership of foreign 

property if they had a total cost amount of more than C$100,000 at any time during the tax 

year. The specific question is on page two of the annual T1 Canadian tax return. If the answer 

is yes, then you are required to file Form T1135-Foreign Income Verification Statement. 

This form is due to be filed by the due date of your tax return (generally April 30th of the 

year following the particular tax year). Please note that if you e-file, you still have to mail in 

a hard copy of your Form T1135 separately. The penalty for not filing this form (if required) 

by the due date is a fine of $25 per day to a maximum of $2,500 for each tax year. If you 

fail to answer the foreign property question honestly, there are other potential implications 

(including jail time) however this would generally be for situations where there is an intention 

to evade tax by hiding foreign assets. 

Although the penalty for late filing of the T1135 has been in place since 1998, the Canada 

Revenue Agency has just recently stepped up their efforts to pursue non-compliance. This 

is consistent with their advance warnings that they will scrutinize foreign tax issues more 

closely. We have noticed that the CRA now automatically assesses the penalty for a late 

filed Form T1135. There is a computer generated letter which is mailed out assessing the 

maximum penalty. 

If you have already been assessed this penalty, there may be grounds to submit a claim under 

the tax fairness provisions depending on your particular circumstances. If you have not yet 

filed and your return will be late, then you should consider whether you qualify for the formal 

voluntary disclosure process to mitigate the penalty. 

So what exactly is “foreign property” that is required to be reported on Form T1135? Generally, 

the definition is fairly expansive as outlined in the instructions to the form (see www.cra-arc. 

gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t1135/t113507-e.pdf). Some common examples include cash, stocks, bonds, 

mutual funds, loans or any real property (land or building) not in Canada. 

Lets look at some other examples to provide more clarity. If you own a bank account in the 

U.S. then that is definitely a foreign property so you need to file T1135 if the cost amount is 

more than C$100,000. Remember that the C$100,000 amount is on an aggregate basis and 

not for each foreign property. So if you have a foreign bank account with C$50,000 and other 

foreign property with a cost of C$60,000 then you need to file Form T1135. 

If you recently moved to Canada and still own a home outside of Canada, then the foreign 

home will be foreign property for purposes of Form T1135 if not maintained exclusively for 

personal use (i.e. if it is rented out). The cost base of the home is the fair market value at the 

time you moved to Canada. 


55


56 

If you own mutual funds through a Canadian mutual fund provider (such as Sun Life, 

ManuLife, Investors Group or a Canadian financial institution) you are not considered to 

own foreign property, even if the mutual fund invests entirely in foreign stocks. 

The biggest area of concern is if you own stocks of foreign corporations (through a broker 

or an internet ac-count). Stocks of foreign corporations are considered to be foreign property 

for purposes of Form T1135 and you may be required to file this form if you invested more 

than C$100,000. 

How do you come clean if you now realize you were required to file Form T1135 for a prior 

year? The best option for submitting a late Form T1135 is through CRAs formal Voluntary 

Disclosure Program (VDP). Unfortunately, just mailing in the required form with a remorseful 

apology doesn’t work with the CRA. The VDP is a formal process which gives taxpayers 

the opportunity to come forward to correct inaccurate information or to disclose previously 

unreported information without penalties or fear of prosecution. The submission can be made 

either on a no-names basis or with full in-formation so you’ll need to consider the better 

strategy for your situation. The VDP process is not a do-it-yourself project and it is highly 

recommended that you seek professional advice. 

A valid disclosure must meet the following four conditions: 

• the disclosure must be voluntary (i.e. you have not been formally asked by the CRA to 

complete the form) 

• the disclosure must be complete 

• there must be an application of a potential penalty 

• the disclosure must generally include information that is more than one year overdue 

Also, the disclosure must be in writing and should be sent to the tax services office that has 

jurisdiction over the area where the taxpayer resides. 


Abiding to Ethical Standard 

The ethical standard of business is that there should not be cheating, fraud, 

and commercial bribery in business. An entrepreneur who uses unethical 

practices will soon find himself without customers. A good executive has 

the social, moral, and religious responsibility to follow the ethical standard 

of business to earn legitimate profit and stay long in the market. 



“ Staying true 

to your values no 

matter what; I’ve 

been raised on 

my grandfather’s 

founding principles 

of integrity and 

honesty and I think 

that they’ve helped 

me tremendously in 

my life. 

” 

Mr. Mohamed Medhat Hassan Allam 

Managing Director for Real Estate 

Hassan Allam Properties (Subsidiary Hassan Allam Holding) 

Can you please give our readers a brief on your professional background 

I have always worked in property development. My career started when I was in college, and used 

to visit Ain-Sokhna with my friends camping in the desert. We’d pitch our tents on the roadside and 

enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings, wondering: “Why couldn’t there be houses developed here.” 

Today, that early dream has become a reality: We have gone from these early beginnings of camping 

out on the beach in Sokhna and dreaming, to a leading real estate business (one of Egypt’s largest) 

with millions of square meters of prime real estate, already developed, and many more in the pipeline. 

Hassan Allam Properties today owns a portfolio of luxury holiday homes in El Sokhna, Sharm el 

Sheikh and a brand new project, soon to launch in Sahel. We have also created several luxury urban 

developments in prime locations in Cairo. 


57


What is the significance to you of working in a family business that was set up by 

your grandfather Hassan Allam? 

Hassan Allam, our founder, has passed onto us a very strong name, synonymous with credibility, 

reliability and ethics. Though he founded the business more than 80 years ago, these values continue 

to remain at the heart of our organization and are an integral part of our brand. I suppose, this allowed 

us to enter a new sector in which we have no track record and to be taken seriously – we come with a 

long heritage, and brand, behind us. 

What was Hassan Allam Properties’ very first real estate project? 

The Little Venice Golf Resort in Ain el Sokhna was our very first real estate project, launched in 2000. 

At that time, the family was keen to diversify on its core construction brand and real estate seemed 

the natural growth area for a longstanding contractor. We entered the real estate market, confident in 

our track record as a builder of some of Egypt’s most important buildings and infrastructure today. We 

knew we would be able to deliver first class units, built to the very highest standards of the industry. 

The past decade has proved us right: to date, we have delivered more than 30,000 luxury units, with 

a further 5,000 luxury units are coming soon. 

Hassan Allam Holding is a leading Egyptian construction and properties business 

that owns several subsidiary entities, tell us more about those entities. 

Hassan Allam Holding (HAH) is a leading Egyptian construction and properties business that owns 

two subsidiary entities: Hassan Allam Construction and Hassan Allam Properties, as well as vibrant 

subsidiaries in Algeria and Saudi Arabia. The company ranks among Egypt’s largest and best-known 

companies, employing more than 11,000 individuals at home and throughout the region. 

What new projects are coming up from Hassan Allam Properties? 

Hot on the heels of the successful launch of our million square meter development in Sharm el Sheikh. 

Baia Bianca (where Phase I is now sold out) we are about to pioneer a second signature project, in 

Sahel. This beach side community on Egypt’s popular North Coast will provide a fantastic leisure 

experience, with lots of surprises in store. So, watch out for it!....In the city, we’re also continuing 

to expand on our product range. Hassan Allam Properties has traditionally served A Class buyers 

58 


ecause of our exceptionally high quality of construction. However, we recognize that there are huge 

opportunities in other segments, and we’re adapting our high value proposition to cater to other 

segments of buyers such as the upper middle class sector…..With this sector, as with any other sector 

we’ve penetrated, it’s our strong name and strong record that will guarantee us the credibility that will 

help to get us started. 

From your point of view, what is the real estate sector’s biggest challenge? 

The biggest challenge faced by the sector today is the availability of high quality construction capacity. 

We are uniquely positioned in the market, and ahead of our peers, in that, within our group, we have 

a powerful, and famous construction, arm to draw on. So, in addition to our vast internal resources of 

development expertise, our affiliation with our sister company, Hassan Allam Construction also puts 

us in a strong position. 

Any sort of cooperation with Canada? 

Who knows?...but in the short term, Hassan Allam Properties is actively looking to penetrate the Arab 

region, and we have several things in the pipeline. 

Your definition of success in life is? 

Staying true to your values no matter what; I’ve been raised on my grandfather’s founding principles 

of integrity and honesty and I think that they’ve helped me tremendously in my life. 


59


Experts to probe Egypt’s shark 

attacks 

A team of top shark experts from the US was 

heading to determine what is behind the unusual 

series of shark attacks that have cleared 

Red Sea beaches of swimmers. Shark attacks 

at Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, famed for their reef 

diving, are rare. The attacks on snorkelers and 

swimmers at Sharm el-Sheikh, on the southern 

tip of the Sinai Peninsula, are believed to involve 

two oceanic white-tip sharks, which normally 

do not get close to beaches. 

Kuwait Energy sells 20% of Burg 

El Arab concession in Egypt to East 

West Petroleum 

Kuwait Energy Company, one of the fastest 

growing independent oil and gas exploration 

and production companies in the Middle East, 

announced it has sold a 20% participation interest 

from its contractor’s share in the Burg El 

Arab concession in Egypt to Calgary-based oil 

and gas company East West Petroleum Corporation. 

Kuwait Energy Company will remain 

the operator of the Burg El Arab concession 

with a 55% interest from the contractor’s share 

in addition to the operatorship. Gharib Oil 

Fields, partner in Burg El Arab, will retain its 

25% participation interest. The Burg El Arab 

concession is situated in the prolific Western 

Desert area of Egypt. The transaction is subject 

to customary regulatory approvals, including 

the endorsement of the Egyptian Government. 


61


Arab States Research and Education 

Network to be launched in Cairo 

ASREN is established as a legal entity under 

the auspices of the League of Arab States 

and the UN GAID to help secure sustainable 

e-Infrastructures across the Arab world. Dr. 

Abu-Ghazaleh, Chair of the Global Alliance for 

ICT and Development of the United Nations 

(UN GAID) announced the launch of ASREN 

on March 31, 2010 at the 3rd EU-MED Event 

held in Brussels, Belgium. The announcement 

marked a major step towards sustaining ICT 

infrastructures for research and education in 

the Mediterranean region for e-Science across 

Arab nations. ASREN will also adopt GAID’s 

mission for the advancement of the United 

Nations Millennium Development Goals 

(MDGs) by using ICT solutions. It is expected 

that ASREN will act as the Arab regional 

network for the ICT solutions matrix for the 

advancement of MDGs under the honorary 

leadership of the UN Secretary General. 

Building on EUMEDCONNECT2, the highcapacity 

Internet network for research and 

education in the Mediterranean which is cofunded 

by the European Commission, ASREN 

sets out to widen its geographical footprint by 

connecting other Arab national research and 

education networks (NRENs) in addition to the 

current seven EUMEDCONNECT2 member 

countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, 

Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. 

62 


Israel Chemicals to buy Egyptian 

natgas from EMG 

Fertilizer and specialty chemical maker Israel 

Chemicals (ICL) agreed to buy natural gas from 

East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) until 2030 in a 

deal worth between $370 million and $460 million. 

This is in addition to an agreement signed 

in 2008 with U.S.-Israeli consortium Yam Thetis 

to buy 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas 

through 2015. The company, the world’s sixthlargest 

producer of potash, will buy 0.2 bcm 

of gas a year from EMG for a power plant it 

intends to build in the southern Israeli town of 

Sodom. It has an option to buy an additional 

0.53 bcm, which is not included in its current 

estimate of the value of the deal. ICL said since 

it switched over to natural gas last year there 

had been a substantial improvement in emissions 

from its plants and the move is part of its 

strategy to comply with stringent environmental 

standards. EMG, which sells Egyptian gas to 

Israel, is owned by Egyptian businessman Hussain 

Salem, Egypt Natural Gas Co, Thailand’s 

PTT, Israel’s Merhav Group, Ampal-American 

Israel Corp and American businessman Sam 

Zell.


Canada would honor climate deal 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada 

would support a binding international agreement 

to reduce greenhouse gases. Harper spoke 

in Nova Scotia as delegates at a climate-change 

conference in Cancun, Mexico. Harper, whose 

government is often criticized for its stance 

on greenhouse-gas emissions, said Canada 

would honor the pact if such an agreement was 

reached. He also called for an effort to push 

countries not interested in reducing emissions 

back to the table. 


Be ready for Grave decisions and Change 

Change is the only constant thing in this world. You have to adjust your 

business ideas according to these changes. Try to see if the products or 

services you offer are still in demand. A good entrepreneur should have 

an eye on the past performance of his business and its capacity to produce 

for the future demand of his products. If he has the necessary foresight to 

plan its operations for a period ahead, the business will be a success and 

the entrepreneur earns profit. 

2011 to be the year of the tablet 

With the BlackBerry maker Research In Motion 

(RIM) launching the PlayBook early next 

year, the tablet is set to become the next big 

device in the new year. With the roaring success 

of Apple’s iPad, which has sold in millions 

since its launch last April, the BlackBerry maker 

Research In Motion (RIM) has joined major 

players in the electronics industry to rush into 

the market with their versions of the tablet. In 

2011, consumers will have multiple choices, 

from Apple’s iPad, to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, 

Dell’s Streak, Hewlett Packard’s Slate 500, and 

Toshiba’s Folio 100 to Android tablets. 


63


U.S. tax cuts good for Canada 

A deal to extend U.S. tax cuts should be positive 

for Canada, though the simulative effect of 

cuts for the highest earners is “questionable,” 

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty declared. 

“I believe tax reductions create stimulus 

but the higher one goes up the income ladder”. 

Flaherty said that low-income earners are more 

likely to spend tax savings than wealthy ones. 

However, he accreted that the impact would 

probably help boost U.S. growth, which is good 

news for Canada. “We realize our economy 

won’t have substantial recovery without recovery 

in the United States,” he concluded. 

64 


Trust your Capabilities 

Some entrepreneurs fail because of doubt and fear. They hesitate to take 

some risks involved in the business. They doubt their abilities and skills. 

This is a barrier that should be knocked down, otherwise; clients will go 

away from you. Planning will help you identify your strengths and decide 

how to handle any challenges. By looking at the big picture, you can 

pinpoint gaps that need to be taken care of before your business activity 

gets fully underway. 


Titanic becoming fast food for 

bacteria 

The wreckage of the Titanic on the ocean floor 

will soon disappear as newly discovered bacteria, 

according to Canadian researchers, are fast eating 

it up. The Titanic, which was the largest passenger 

ship at the time, sank on its maiden journey from 

England to New York April 14, 1912, after hitting 

an iceberg in mid-Atlantic. Of the 2223 passengers 

on board, only 706 survived. Henrietta Mann, 

a Canadian civil engineering professor at Dalhousie 

University, says the new bacterial species are 

eating away the wreckage so fast that soon the Titanic 

will be reduced to a “rust stain’’ on the ocean 

bottom. Eventually there will be nothing left but a 

rust stain. The Titanic’s final resting was discovered 

by a joint American-French expedition in 

1985, almost 73 years after its sinking. The wreck 

is located 3.8 kilometers below the ocean surface 

and some 530 kilometers southeast of Newfoundland, 

Canada.

CEBC Members’ News 

It gives CEBC an immense pleasure to 

congratulate two of its members of the board on 

their well-deserved success in the 2010 People’s 

Assembly elections and they are: 

Dr. Ahmed Sameh Farid 

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University 

Dr. Effat El Sadat, 

Chairman, Sadat Group 

CEBC has the pleasure to congratulate Mr. Maged 

Menshawy, Chairman & CEO, Manapharma and 

member of the board, Canada Egypt Business Council, 

for being appointed Chairman of the Egyptian Lebanese 

Businessmen Association. 

CEBC’s Chairman, board of directors, members and 

staff would like to congratulate Ambassador Amin 

Meleika for being appointed the Consul General of 

Egypt in Montreal. 


Set up a System 

You have to set up the right system for your business so that you can also 

have time away from work and be able to generate new ideas for other 

business ventures. You must have a system for your business operations, 

marketing, and offerings. Some entrepreneurs live only for their business. 

They often forget about achieving the proper balance between personal 

and business life. You have to establish specific strategies so that you can 

enjoy your success in all aspects of your life. 


65

CEBC Members’ Benefits 

Egypt Air 

CEBC is pleased to inform you that the 2011 agreement with Egypt Air for discounted tickets is 

offered to CEBC members, their spouses & children. 

Also members who wish to receive the Egypt Air Plus Mileage Card are welcome to contact Ms. 

Maha Kamal from CEBC. 

Commercial Int’l Bank (CIB) 

The Commercial International Bank – Women Banking is honored to offer the members of the 

CEBC and their spouses the exclusive “Heya” credit card with privileged access to CIB’s Women 

Banking. The card is designed to bring extra financial flexibility and exclusive privileges. 

Women Banking offer the following benefits for its members: 

1. International golden Master Card “Heya” with a limit starting from EGP 25000. 

55 Days grace period upon purchasing. 

5 % minimum monthly payment. 

1.85% monthly interests on the unpaid amount. 

2. Special VIP lounges in different located branches to fulfill all your financial transactions. 

3. Medium size business finance. 

4. Access to global best practices, finance, information and markets. 

5. Discounts up to 30% in around 1000 prestigious stores. 

6. Women banking agenda covering full year trainings, seminars, privileged trips, 

exhibitions and events. 

7. Special networking events to exchange ideas, benefits & business. 

8. Great offers and promotions. 

9. Wide range of CIB products and services. 

Exclusive to CEBC Members!! 

NO BILLS – DOCUMENTATIONS – VERIFICATIONS are required. CEBC members will apply 

by providing only: 

1. Copy of the national ID. 

2. Personal photos. 

3. Letter from CEBC 

66 


CEBC Members’ Benefits 

To arrange the collection of your documents at your convenience, please call Mr. Taha EL Wakeel 

on 002-010-371-5023 or 002-02-24565369. 

For further queries please contact Ms. Gihan Sarwat, Thawra Branch Manager on 002-02- 

24565347. 

Special Room Rates 

CEBC is now contracted for special room rates with: 

Fairmont Heliopolis and Towers 

Jaz Hotels and Resorts: 

• Jaz little Venice (Ein Sokhna) 

• Iberotel Lido – Jaz Mirabel Beach – Iberotel El Mercato (Sharm El Sheikh) 

• Iberotel Aquamarine – Solymar Ivory Suites (Hurghada) 

• Jaz Makadi Golf – Iberotel Saraya – Iberotel Makadi Beach (Madinat 

Makadi) 

• Iberotel Lamaya – Solymar Abu Dabbab – Iberotel Coraya (Marsa Alam) 

• Sea Star Taba (Taba) 

• Iberotel Dahabeya (Dahab) 

• Iberotel (Aswan) 

• Iberotel Borg El Arab (North Cost) 

• Iberotel (Luxor) 

Porto Marina Hotel 

Porto Sokhna Hotel 

For further information on any of our benefits please contact: 

Ms. Maha kamal 

Tel.: 202 22914975 

Fax.: 202 22917075 

Email: maha.kamal@canadaegypt.org 


Technical Skill 

An entrepreneur should have sufficient technical skill for understanding, 

carrying out and completing a particular job, which he has undertaken 

to perform. He should have specialized knowledge in that field so that the 

processes and methods involved are efficiently carried out. 


67

CEBC Members’ Birthdates 

68 

Dr. Effat El Sadat 

Sadat Group 

Chairman 

Ms. Yousr Hamza 

Professional Conference Services 

International, PCSI 

Chairman 

Dr. Samir El-Naggar 

Daltex Corporation 

Chairman 

Mr. Mokhtar Abou-Basha 

Maba Group 

Chairman 

Eng. Mohamed El Tawil 

Triangle Trading and Engineering 

Chairman 

January 

Mr. Moheb Hanna 

International Cargo Services ICS 

General Manager 

Mr. Mohamed Eletreby 

Arab Investment Bank 

Vice Chairman and Managing 

Director 


Ms. Amal Abdel Aziz 

A.B.B 

Deputy Project Manager 

Mr. Abdel Salam El Anwar 

HSBC Bank Egypt S.A.E 

Chairman and CEO 

Mr. Ahmed Rostom 

Al Ahlia Oil Fields Development Co. 

Chairman 

Ms. Gazbeya El Wassimy 

Professional Conference Services 

International, PCSI 


Mr. Magdy Moris Habib 

Anasia-Egypt For Trading S.A.E. 

Managing Director 

Mr. Ashraf El Gamal 

Pyramid Oilfield Supply Co. 

(POSCO) 

President and Managing Director 

Mr. Mahfouz Nasralla 

Prima Elios for Electrical Industries 

S.A.E. 

Chairman 

Mr. Sherif Victor 

EBKOT for Development and 

Tourism Co. S.A.E 

CEO 

Ms. Hosna Rachid 

Unilever Mashreq 

Chairperson 

Ms. Noha Barakat 


Deputy General Manager, 

Investment Banking 

Ms. Dalia Islam Shalaby 

Imperial Travel Center Group - ITC 

Vice Chairman 

Dr. Ayman El Mandouh 

Efadco Petroleum Services 

Chairman 

Eng. Hassan Abd El Reheim 

Wisers Consulting Engineers 

Chairman 

Mr. Hassan Kabbani 

The Egyptian Company for Mobile 

Services (Mobinil) 

CEO 

Eng. Tarek El Hemaily 

Telecom and Technology Company 

“TeleTech” 

Chairman and CEO 

Mr. Hossam El Gammal 

GNSE Group 

Managing Director


Mr. Abdel Aziz El-Aguizy 

Quinsys Information Systems 

Chairman 

Mr. Tamer Erian 

Nile Exploration Group 

Assistant Executive Officer 

February 

Eng. Saleh El-Hadidi 

El-Hadidi Companies Group 

“HACO” 

President 

Mr. Mohamed Rostom 

Al Ahlia Oil Fields Development 

Co. 

Executive Director 

Mr. Ahmed Moaaz 

Sea Dragon Energy 

Country Manager 

Dr. Nawal El Degwi 

Six of October University for 

Modern Sciences and Arts 

Head of Board of Trustees 

Ms. Inas Gameh 

Arab Investment Bank 

General Manager - Retail & 

Marketing Dept. 

Mr. Ashraf Ayoub 

Construction Treatment & Up Grade 

Center (CTU) 

Owner 

Mr. Amr Amin El Sawaf 

Promotrade 


Mr. Osama El Nomany 

Catec 

CEO 

Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif 

Felix Maritime Agency 


Ms. Hala Abdel Azeem 

Al Tomouh Society 

Chairman 

Mr. Ahmed Imam 

Raya Contact Center 

CEO-Call Center Line of Business 

Mr. Essam Al Kalza 

United Ofoq 

Chief Executive Officer 

Dr. Khaled Derbala 

Acme-Saico Integrated Engineering 

Systems 

Head of IT & Communication 

Manager 

Mr. Ahmed Kafafi 

Middle East Projects Developments 

CEO 

Mr. Hamada Abou El Enein 

Sharm Dream Holding Company for 

Touristic Investment S.A.E. 

Chairman & CEO 

Dr. Khaled El Shalakany 

Shalakany Law Office 

Senior and Managing Partner of 

Branch Office in Dubai 

Dr. Mohamed Tolba 

Delta Software 


Dr. Sherif El-Gabaly 

Abu Zabaal Fertilizers and 

Chemicals Company 

Chairman 

Mr. Yehia Ezzeldin 

International Company for Leasing 

- Incolease 


Ms. Alia El-Kaissouni 

Al Ahly Real Estate Development 

Co. 

Public Relations Manager 


69


70 

Mr. Sherin Fouad Habib 

CFT International 


Mr. Ahmed El Saadawi 

Vodafone International Services 

Business Development Senior 

Manager 

Mr. Islam El Ghazouly 

El Ghazouly Law Firm 

Legal Manager 

Mr. Mohamed El Hamamsy 

Megacom 

Chairman 

Eng. Karim Sami Saad 

Samcrete Engineers & Contractors 

Chairman 

March 

Ms. Rasha Ezz Eldin 

Orascom Telecom Holding 


Dr. Magdi Hassan 

Drug Holding Co. (Holdipharma) 

Chairman and Managing Director 


Ms. Nevine Taher 


Senior General Manager PFS and 

Branches 

Mr. Mohamed Embaby 

Al Fotouh Engineering Co. 

Chairman 

Mr. Alex Shalaby 

The Egyptian Company for Mobile 

Services (Mobinil) 

Chairman 

Mr. Joseph Mishriky 

DHL Global Forwarding 

Regional Director North Africa and 

Country Manager Egypt 

Ms. Mayan Raslan 

Speedo Trans Co. 

Vice President 

Ms. Aliaa Soliman 

Allied Investments and Trading 

(AIT) 

Partner and Principal Consultant 

Mr. Richard (Ric) Matkowski 

Petzed Investment and Project 

Management Ltd. 

Chief Operating Officer 

Mr. Maged Mokhtar 

Sanatech 

President 

Ms. Amal El Tobgy 

Allied Investments and Trading 

(AIT) 

Senior Associate 

Dr. Amr Abdel Motaal 

Abdel Motaal, Moharram and Heiza 

Law Firm 

Attorney at Law and Senior 

Managing Partner 

Eng. Mohamed Abboud 

Inotek Systems 

President & Chief Executive Officer 

Mr. Alaa El-Zohairy 

Arb Misr Insurance Group “AMIG” 

Managing Director


CEBC New Members 

Alphabetized by company name 

72 

Dr. Khaled Derbala 

Head of IT & 

Communication Manager 

ACME-Saico Integrated 

Engineering Systems 

Mr. Khaled Hassan 


Alam Rakamy 

Mr. Waleed El Bahtimy 

Vice President & CEO 

Alexanderia Martime 

Services “Alexmar” 

Mr. Ayman Wagdy 

Vice President, Business 

Development 

Americana Group 

Mr. Hamam Mahmoud 

Deputy General Manager 

Arab Engineering & 

Distribution Company 


Mr. Amir Medhat Wissa 


Bishara Textitle & Garment 

Manufacturing 

Mr. Hossam Eldin Ads 

Chairman 

Crystal Mind 

Mr. Tarek Mostafa Yassin 

Vice President 

Crystal Mind 

Dr. Mohamed Tolba 


Delta Software 

Mr. Rawy Iskander 

Managing Partner 

Eduglobe Capital


Alphabetized by company name 

Dr. Ayman El Mandouh 

Chairman 

Efadco Petroleum Services 

Eng. Mohamed El Sawy 

Founder 

El Sawy Culture Wheel 

Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif 


Felix Maritime Agency 

Eng. Mohamed Abboud 

President & Chief Executive 

Officer 

Inotek Systems 

Eng. Mohamed El Sherif 

Consultant Engineering 

International Office of 

Engineering Consultants 

Ms. Ghada Talaat 

Managing Director Africa 

Region 

Lloyds British 

Mr. Ragui Anis Iskander 


Metropole Press 

Mr. Adel Sobhy 

Partnership & Managing 

Director 

Metropole Press 

Eng. Hussein Nour Eldin 

General Director 

Nour Consult 

Eng. Maged Abadir 

Executive Director 

Orascom Construction 

Industries 


73


74 

Eng. Naguib Sawiris 

Executive Chairman 


Mr. Khaled Bichara 

Group Chief Executive 

Officer 


Ms. Rasha Ezz Eldin 



Mr. Ismail Ibrahim Osman 

Senior Advisor 

Osman Group 

Ms. Luara Kfoury 


Sahara Printing Company 

S.A.E. 


Eng. Karim Sami Saad 

Chairman 

Samcrete 

Mr. Maged Samir Mokhtar 

President 

Sanatech 

Mr. Khaled El Bahtimy 

Chairman 

Sea Grain Stevedoring & 

Warehousing 

Mr. Gamal Abou Seif 

Chairman 

Travel Plus 

Mr. Ayman Abou Sahly 


Zas Soft

CEBC Event - Canada Egypt Business Council

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